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AC Maintenance

Durwin

Charter Member
Full Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2002
Messages
1,352
Location
Sacramento, California
Good Evening,
Does anyone out there do their own AC recharging? I haven't in a few years and was thinking about buying
this 
http://www.efproducts.com/proddetail.php?prod=322&cat=9
and doing my own.

Just a thought. It seems cheaper than taking the Avalanche in for such a simple procedure.
Durwin
 
Well I would not buy that just buy a can of R134a with a pressure gauge attached.
Do you think you have a leak.  ???

Link
 
Basically, that's the same thing. Just one can, where the kit I was interested in had two cans.
That's more than just 134A. It contains a lubricant and some sort of a synthetic "booster".

Durwin
 
Sorry it's :bsflag:


It's the same thing the can has the same stuff. Don't waste your money.
 
no reason to ever add Refrdigerant unless you have leak.
If you have leak need to fix it first then properly recharge by evacuating system then recharging...
 
That's why this site is great.

Hmmm. Maybe that explains why my 18 year old Mustang still blows chilly air and doesn't need R12.
Durwin
 
The problem with adding cans of R134 is that the amount of refrigerant in the system is much more critical than R12 for proper operation. The only way to get the right amount in is to remove all of it, and recharge by weight, not pressure. Sure you can add a can if the AC isn't blowing cold, but if you add too much, the system will overpressure on a hot day and shut down until the pressure drops. In extreme cases, it will vent the freon charge.
My Avy has 104K miles on it, and I all of a sudden, it started blowing warm air when idling. It was plenty cool while driving. Turns out the compressor was failing.
I cleaned a lot of metal particles out of the system, replaced the compressor, orfice tube, and accumulator ($450 for parts).
By the way, there are used non-automatic A/C machines out there - I got one for $250. It has paid for itself 5 times over!
 
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